Removal of Copper (II) by Biochar Mediated by Dissolved Organic Matter

The effects of humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) on Cu(2+) adsorption on biochar were investigated, with mechanisms confirmed by excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. HA loading enhanced Cu(2+) adsorption on biochar, with the maximum enhancement of 55.0% occurring at an HA loading of 100 mg-C/L. The adsorbed HA introduced many additional functional groups to biochar, thus enhancing Cu(2+) adsorption, which decreased at HA concentrations >100 mg-C/L due to self-association of HA at high loading concentrations. In contrast, FA loading caused no enhancement on Cu(2+) adsorption on biochar. FA was adsorbed through H-bonding with the functional groups of biochar, which set up a competition with Cu(2+) for adsorption on biochar. The functional groups occupied by adsorbed FA were offset by the newly introduced functional groups of FA, thus there was no net increase in the amount of Cu(2+) adsorption upon FA loading. These findings imply that, because of the enhanced adsorption of HA-loaded biochar, the amount of Cu(2+) immobilized would increase by 28.2% for mature compost and 31.9% for fresh compost if there exist interaction between biochar and HA compared with the amounts immobilized by non-interactive HA and biochar.